Is Apple ditching the ‘Black & Slate’ color option on the iPhone 5S?

Apple unveiled a brand new version of its iOS operating system on Monday and now that the dust has settled, an interesting question is raised — does Apple plan to get rid of the “Black & Slate” color option on its next-generation iPhone 5S? This is purely speculation on my part, but consider two things: First, take a look at the mockups Apple posted all over its website to show off iOS 7. There are dozens upon dozens of images showing iOS 7 on the iPhone 5, but I just looked through them all and aside from tiny thumbnails, I was only able to find one mockup of iOS 7 running on a black iPhone. By itself, this isn’t necessarily evidence that Apple is ditching the black iPhone — but now take a look at BGR’s exclusive report from last month.

We published high-resolution photos of several components that will be included in Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5S. Among them were several photos showing the redesigned SIM card trays from the upcoming new iPhone. One tray is silver, much like the tray on Apple’s current white iPhone model. The other tray is a light gold color.

New photos of those SIM card trays have leaked on a few other websites since we ran that exclusive report, and they are always shown in the same two colors: silver and gold. So I ask again… is Apple getting rid of black on the iPhone 5S?

Apple’s black iPhone 5 has had some issues with scuffing, but ditching the color entirely would be a curious move. I don’t have any data regarding the sales split between black and white iPhone 5 models, but I can say anecdotally that I see many more black iPhones than white iPhones in and around New York City and when I travel.